Background The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in the disintegration of the previous management structure for the environment sector in the country. Today, uncontrolled urbanisation and development pose a significant threat to the many important ecosystems as well as to human health, and seriously undermine the possibilities for sustainable development in the Republika Srpska (RS). Furthermore, environmental management and protection of the area is hampered by several factors such as: lack of funding to transpose national and EU policy into actual regional plans, insufficient guidelines for the application of these plans at the local level, the absence of trained professionals who can work in the environment sector, and the lack of state-of-the art decision support tools to assist the design and implementation phase. Objectives The project’s main objective was to establish environmental planning and develop the capacity to deal with pollution prevention on a regional (river basin) and local level in the Republika Srpska (RS), which would also be applicable to other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project’s specific objectives were to: · Undertake an overview of the current situation and identify gaps in environmental planning and development in RS; · Develop the missing link between national policy and regional planning (river catchment and sub-catchment level) through the development of a framework for national-to-regional cooperation; · Develop the missing link between regional planning (river catchment and sub-catchment level) and local implementation through the development of a framework for regional-to-local cooperation; · Develop the local ability to produce and implement regional environmental action plans through the elaboration of guidelines, training, and software support; · Carry-out pilot studies on regional environmental planning in two particularly complex river basin systems(Vrbas and Trebisnjica karstic) to test the methodology and tools proposed and serve as an example for application in other areas of RS; · Increase the number of trained professionals in the environmental protection and management field; · Increase public awareness through workshops, information dissemination, and open discussions; and · Transfer state-of-the-art technology for decision support on a regional and local level from the EU to the local authorities. Results The project has strengthened the local and regional capacities for environmental planning and project management, by developing tools and guidelines for regional environmental planning and a decision support system (DSS), and by training and ensuring effective participation of professionals from local authorities and stakeholders. The ongoing creation (May 2006) of State and Entity level Water Management Agencies (EAW - Entity Agency for Water) will allow for further extension and application of methods and skills developed under the project. It has yet to be evaluated to what extent the experience gained and capacities built are being effectively applied to other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This would be an issue for attention in an ex-post visit in 2007-2008. The project compiled up-to-date information on the environmental situation and management systems in Republika Srpska, and completed two case studies on regional environmental planning, in the Vrbas and Trebišnjica catchments. The INFRA RED project was complementary to another project 'River Basin Manageent Programme BiH', financed with CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation) funding. The aim of this project was to reform the water sector and achieve transparent, cost-effective and sustainable water management in BiH, in line with the European water Framework Directive. In particular, the LIFE project has contributed to the preparatory work for future River Basin Management Plans for the Vrbas and Trebisnjica river basins. An important dimension of the project was the initiation of a multi-stakeholders approach (involving local authorities and other stakeholders) to environmental planning, which is a new approach in BiH. The demonstration value of this new planning approach, and its adoption in other regions, remains to be assessed. Lastly, public awareness was raised through workshops, dissemination activities, a web site, the publication of brochures for schools and general audience, and the production of two films on DVD support. Promotional materials are of very good quality and won some international prizes, and have helped to generate interest from various donors in further studies and investments.